Of Ice Cream and English Teachers
by sburke94
Summary: Incredibly, Ridiculously Sweet Fluff that resulted from the flu and Ben&Jerry's Ice Cream.


There were very few days when I hated English class. Usually the combination of Ezra and whatever short story we were reading that day was enough to hold my attention. However, neither of those factors were in play today—hence my hate.

Ezra was out sick, which honestly wasn't all that surprising since I'd been sick the week before and he'd refused to stay away from me. He'd muttered something about being a glutton for punishment and kissed me anyway. And while the substitute he'd gotten was nice enough, she wasn't him.

The work he'd left for us was almost as bad as the sub. Pages upon pages of grammar work and in-depth analysis reading questions had been passed out, easy enough, but tedious and time consuming. Worst of all I'd finished the work yesterday.

Being idle had never been my strong suit. More often than not, boredom translated into trouble. Not fifteen minutes ago Emily had nudged me in the shoulder and told me to put away my notebook before I landed myself in hot water—I'd nearly covered an entire sheet of notebook in the words _Aria Fitz. _Yes, I most definitely hated English; which is why when the bell rang at three-thirty I was out the door and headed towards the parking lot without so much as a goodbye to my friends.

But they'd understand—I'd been doing it all week. Hell, I'd done it every time Ezra was out. It should've frightened me, the insane and inexplicable urge I had to constantly be with him, but it didn't. That's how things were between us; magnetic even when the rest of the world seemed to try and make us polar opposites.

My quick exit from the classroom had allowed me to beat the mad rush out of the parking lot and saved me from the usual ten minute long wait at the stoplight.

Ezra didn't live far from the school—four and one quarter miles to be exact. Traffic was surprisingly light for 3:35 on a Friday afternoon and I found myself pulling into the parking space just around the corner from his apartment building a lot sooner than expected. I glanced at my cell phone: 3:38. He wasn't expecting me until a quarter 'til, which gave me plenty of time to stop at the grocery store down the street and pick up a pint of Ben and Jerry's. I'd been craving it all week and I had a feeling that the frozen treat would feel good on Ezra's sore throat.

Three dollars and six minutes later I let myself into his apartment, smiling softly when I found him asleep on the couch. I set the ice cream in the freezer and shrugged off my jacket before tiptoeing over to where he lay.

Gently, I brushed a wayward curl off his forehead and pressed a kiss to the revealed skin. Much to my relief, his fever was gone and his skin was cool against my lips. He stirred at my touch, dark lashes fluttering softly against his cheek before his eyes opened.

"Hey." My voice was low, the greeting barely above a whisper.

Lips curving into a small smile, he slid up a little a bit to give me room to sit beside him. "Hey."

"How are you feeling?"

"Better now that you're here." He grinned at me and placed a hand lightly on my knee.

A light giggle escaped me and I reached down to interlace his fingers with mine. "I'm serious!"

"I was too."

"Ezra-" He silenced me with a kiss, his lips lingering slowly over mine. When he finally drew away there was little doubt in my mind that he was feeling much, much better.

"My fever broke after you left last night and my throat doesn't really hurt anymore. I'm just tired for the most part."

"Does that mean you'll be back at school on Monday?"

"Yeah and I hope you did all of the work I left you because you have a quiz on it."

I groaned. "Seriously? I mean I'm glad you'll be back—class sucks without you, but a quiz?"

"I don't know yet—maybe with a little persuasion I'll change my mind."

He angled for a kiss but I pulled away. "You're terrible."

Chuckling softly, he nodded. "I know. So can you stay or did you just come by to check on me?"

"I'm staying, for a few hours anyway."

"Good, I've missed you."

"I missed you, too. And I think I have just the thing to persuade you not to give us a quiz." I smirked and stood up from the couch.

"Oh yeah? It better be good."

He was _definitely _feeling better.

"It is. Stay there for just a second." I wandered over to the kitchen and grabbed the ice cream from the freezer, along with two spoons from the drawer. "Ben and Jerry's good enough for you?"

I sat next to him on the couch again, giggling when he slid an arm around me and yanked me onto his lap.

" Depends. What kind is it?"

"Cherry Garcia." I kissed his nose lightly before pulling the lid off of the tub.

"Good choice."

He shifted beneath me, resettling us so that my legs were draped across his. I handed him a spoon before taking my own and digging into the ice cream.

"Mmmm." My eyes closed in bliss as I took the first bite and Ezra laughed.

"That good?" Instead of answering him I scooped out another bite and fed it to him. "Alright, it's that good."

I took another bite, smiling at him as he watched me do so. "What?"

"Know what's even better?" He stuck his spoon into the tub of ice cream and took it from my hand. "You." He set the ice cream on the coffee table before kissing me softly. "Yup, this definitely beats ice cream."

I grinned against his lips and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck.

Sometime later we lay cuddled on the couch, faces flushed and breathing labored. "I'm going to have to go soon. I'm supposed to meet Spencer and Emily for dinner."

He squeezed me tighter to his side. "I know."

I glanced over at the coffee table. "The ice cream's melted."

"Yeah."

"You owe me." I glanced up at him and smiled.

"I tell you what, admit that I was right and tomorrow we can eat all the ice cream you want."

"Right about what?"

"That this," his lips pressed against mine tenderly, "is much better than ice cream."

I tipped my head to the side thoughtfully. "I don't know. I might need another taste before I rule out something as great as Ben and Jerry's."

He rolled his eyes and chuckled. "I think that can be arranged."

Needless to say I was late to dinner.


End file.
